Corporate

May 11, 2014

Today we honor mothers. They are often our first teachers and biggest supporters through school, and many of us could not be who we are without them.

One of our corporate partners, TATCHA, supports Room to Read to help empower a future generation of great mothers. TATCHA founder and mother, Vicky Tsia recently met some of the students supported by our program in Cambodia and discussed the importance of education for girls with another mom--Room to Read Co-Founder and CEO, Erin Ganju. Check out their video below and Happy Mother’s Day for those celebrating!

Dec 11, 2013

Since 2009, Atlassian has been a key corporate supporter of Room to Read’s work across Cambodia. Atlassian’s investments to Room to Read, funded by their innovative “causism” business model, total over $2.8 million to date—over 100x Atlassian’s original goal! In November 2013, 11 Atlassian employees from San Francisco, USA and Sydney, Australia visited Cambodia to witness first-hand the impact the Atlassian Foundation and Room to Read has had on communities. Below is a guest blog post written by Jeremy Largman, Knowledge Management Program Manager at Atlassian who was part of this special visit.

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What I didn't know

I knew Cambodia was struggling. I'd visited 14 years ago and I knew the country was impoverished and torn by war. But even being here before couldn't prepare me for the experience we had visiting the Room to Read libraries and education programs that the Atlassian Foundation has helped sponsor.

Before meeting the girls in Room to Read's Girls Education program, and seeing the schools in the villages, I couldn't see the undeniable level of commitment--the sacrifice--that the students and their families make to get an education. The set of challenges the students need to overcome in order to access education is both overwhelming and inspirational. But the commitment is there--from the girls in the program, their parents and grandparents, the community, alumnae and teachers, and from the Room to Read staff on the ground.

What I couldn't see before coming was that the ingredients for change are already here: the profound spirit and willingness to fight for change. It might take a generation, but change is coming, and Room to Read's programs are sorely needed to help make it happen.

The challenges are profound

The roadblocks ahead of us are in no short supply: a father who needed his daughter to work in the rice fields rather than attend school; a girl who couldn't attend school because her bicycle had a flat tire and she needed to save up to get it fixed; a school in a rice field that was subject to flooding such that it delayed the start of school for a few weeks.

Among these challenges though, we saw some tremendously positive and encouraging signs.

The community is willing to sponsor education

Village elder who donated his land to support his community's education

We met an elder Cambodian from the school we visited in Siem Reap province. We were introduced to him in a community meet-and-greet format facilitated by our Room to Read visit coordinators.

He was honored by the community for his contribution to the school. He described the sacrifice he'd made for Cambodia's future: the donation of his rice field. Although he had been offered USD$20,000 for his rice field--an extraordinary wealth by a Cambodian villager's standard--he chose to donate his land to build a school in support of the education of his grandchildren. He considered this to be a better future for them than an inheritance.

He had acquired his rice fields early in his life, and had been working tirelessly, like so many in his village, to create a decent life for his 10 children and 20 grandchildren. He told us that he remembered as a child having to walk far to get to school, but was committed to it and cherished the education he received. He remembered being tired and had a hard time learning after walking so far, and wanted a school in his village. When there was no land available to build such a school, he decided on a substantial sacrifice and donated his own land toward this end.

Most importantly, the children want education

The desire for education is so strong. It's not just the parents, and the community, and Room to Read that want education; you can see it in the kids as well. They reminded us of any kids we know from Australia or the USA: energetic and ready to learn.

During a visit to a Room to Read school library in the village of Phoum Svay, we met students who are intensely committed to their education, driven by a deep passion for helping their families and community. This is what keeps us going at Atlassian and drives us to continue to support education around the world with Room to Read. We are proud to be partners in the movement to bring educational opportunity to bright, young learners!

This holiday season, give the gift of literacy with Room to Read and help change the future for children across Asia and Africa. All gifts will be matched through Dec. 31 thanks to a group of generous donors (up to $2.5 million). www.roomtoread.org/holiday

Nov 04, 2013

To bring our programs to scale, Room to Read builds partnerships with individuals, businesses, philanthropic foundations and governments. One of our long-term, key partnerships has been with the Skoll Foundation, who has been an integral player in Room to Read’s organizational growth and development, investing in every facet of our work. Our partnership dates back to 2003 when the Skoll Foundation took a risk on us to support the launch of our "new" Book Publishing program (at the time it was just a pilot program in Nepal). Over the next ten years, our partnership grew to include investing in our program quality and sustainability, monitoring and evaluation efforts, strengthening our volunteer chapter network, and expanding our work into new countries of operation. Through their hands-on, innovative approach to supporting social entrepreneurs, the Skoll Foundation has deeply impacted the way in which Room to Read does business, and has substantially contributed to our ability to reach nearly eight million children across Asia and Africa.

Today, we are proud to share that we have joined with them to participate in the Skoll Foundation Social Entrepreneur Challenge hosted by CrowdRise--an inventive way that the Skoll Foundation is supporting the global non-profit community. The Challenge features 57 of the world’s most forward-thinking non-profit organizations, and we are honored to be included in this exclusive group. This campaign provides an amazing opportunity to help spread Room to Read’s work through the CrowdRise platform, the Skoll Foundation’s network, and campaign partner Huffington Post.

Through the campaign, participating organizations have already collectively raised over $880,000! There are still 3 weeks left, so there is still time to get involved! How? Start by checking out our campaign page. Then, take action in one of the following ways:

Make your donation count. Every day that our campaign raises $100, we’re entered to receive an additional $200. Additionally, when the community collectively raises $500,000, the Skoll Foundation will contribute $250,000 to be distributed equally among all the participating organizations. The same is true for a collective total of $1 million and $1.5 million, resulting in a total of $750,000 matching funds to be distributed!

Join our fundraising team. In seconds, you can create your own fundraiser that you can share with all of your family and friends so that you can raise money for our cause too.

This campaign is a great, easy way to share our work and to see the creative ways in which the Skoll Foundation is supporting the social entrepreneurs who are changing the world. We would love your support for our campaign today through November 22. No amount is too small or too big when giving the gift of literacy! Thank you!

Mar 04, 2013

Every month, users
around the globe spend roughly 700 billion minutes on Facebook (according to
MacWorld). It’s hard to imagine just how vast the positive impact would be if
we spent some fraction of that time dedicated to conquering the world’s
biggest social issues, but luckily we don't have to wait to find out. With its
launch today on Facebook, Half the Sky Movement: The Game is designed to do
just that!

Based on the real-world
challenges faced by women and girls around the globe, as documented in the
acclaimed book (and subsequent PBS documentary) Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,
the game aims to raise awareness and of these issues and invest in real-world
solutions.

Half the Sky: The Game
allows players to take actions that mirror the solutions employed by seven
nonprofit partners (The Fistula Foundation, GEMS, Heifer International, ONE, Room
to Read, United Nations Foundation, and World Vision), tying those actions to
real-world impact through partnerships with the Pearson Foundation and Johnson
& Johnson.

“We want to reach a
broader audience for these issues we care deeply about,” said Nicholas Kristof
and Sheryl WuDunn, co-authors of the best-selling book that inspired a
movement. In seeking to bring their message to computer screens around the
globe, Kristof and WuDunn found a kindred spirit in Games for Change, a
non-profit that catalyzes social impact through digital games. “Around 300
million people play games on Facebook across the globe on a monthly basis,” said
Games for Change Co-Presidents Asi Burak and Michelle Byrd. “If we’re able to
inspire this group of players to spend just 30 minutes of their time with this
game the ripple effect of players’ actions will result in hundreds of thousands
of dollars towards this critical cause.”

In the game, players embark
upon a journey through India, Kenya, Vietnam Afghanistan and the United States,
taking actions along the way that unlock funds from the game’s sponsors. For
example, players can collect books for young girls in the virtual world which
activates a real-life donation to Room to Read. Players who are inspired by
their virtual journey can also choose to make personal donations to partners at
any point throughout the game.

Sep 06, 2012

As kids in the U.S. head back to school, September is the perfect time to spotlight the huge gaps in global literacy–-793 million people worldwide cannot read or write--which is why Room to Read and OO.com have joined forces throughout September and beyond to not only raise awareness about this critical issue, but to allow people to make a difference while doing something they do most days...shop!

OO.com (a Next Jump company) is a leading shopping site for over 30,000 top retail brands. Through their website, they have already raised over $1.2MM to help public school classrooms for our friends at Donors Choose, and fortunately for us, they are now expanding the site to include the issue of international education with Room to Read as their charity partner.

Every purchase--from something as small as a new toothbrush to as large as your next vacation--means that OO.com will donate 1% of that purchase back to one of their nonprofit partners, including Room to Read, without any additional cost to you.

So get ready, set and shop on OO.com and remember to click "SUPPORT" on the Room to Read button to designate us as your charity.

Aug 23, 2012

Cricket superstar Angelo Mathews is used to being at the center of attention, but last week the co-captain of the Sri Lanka team gained a new form of notoriety as the protagonist of a children's book published by Room to Read.

Funded by the International Cricket Council, Little Angelo's Big Day tells the story in Sinhala and Tamil of 10-year-old Angelo, who goes to watch his father play a friendly cricket match. After one of the player's becomes ill, it is up to Little Angelo to join the game and score the final run.

The book was launched in a ceremony at the Sri Lanka Foundation in Colombo on August 13. In attendance were 36 students from our partner schools, including several girls from our Girls' Education program in Hatton who have formed their very own cricket team (and won the under 16 tournament).

After the book had been revealed, Angelo read aloud from another Room to Read title and joined an illustration workshop with the students. He then fielded questions from the inquisitive crowd. "I wanted to be an artist and paint nice pictures," he said of his school days, "but my favorite subject was Mathematics."

When asked about his involvement with Room to Read, Angelo had this to say: “Let us do our level best
for improving the literacy levels in this country.”

Oct 14, 2011

Last week, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to three groundbreaking women from developing countries for their role in advancing both peace and gender equality. All three are shining examples of the link between shared prosperity and greater gender equality in leadership.

But despite the progress made by women like Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman, leadership roles in the public and private sector still remain elusive for women in developing countries. For many young girls, especially those in rural or underserved communities, the paths to running one’s own business or earning a descent wage are riddled with roadblocks.

“Why is it that only men open shops and sell medicines,” asks Shaheen, a 10th grader from our Girls’ Education program who dreams of owning her own pharmacy. “I want to change that and help serve my community,” she shares at an entrepreneurial skills workshop held outside of New Delhi.

A recent addition to the life skills curriculum of our Girls’ Education program in India, the entrepreneurial skills workshops were developed in partnership with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women, which which provides business and management education to underserved female entrepreneurs in developing and emerging markets.

For girls like Shaheen, the workshops, which include a four day sleep-away camp, provide a unique opportunity to explore career goals and gain the skills needed to achieve them. The participants meet with successful local entrepreneurs who help them navigate concepts such as financial literacy, effective leadership, partnership, resource mapping and market research.

One of Shaheen’s classmates, Monica, has also come away from the entrepreneurial skills workshops with a clear view of her future. “I want to open my own boutique,” she says with newfound confidence.

Monica had the chance to share her dream with US Ambassador Melanne Verveer, who promised to buy an Indian outfit from the boutique once it’s up and running. Monica explained that with her family’s support, she hopes to be able to build a business that not only provides her with a comfortable living, but also employs others in her community.

Because support from family is crucial to the girls’ success, the entrepreneurial skills workshops also include informational sessions and meet-ups for parents. “My daughter is very intelligent and listens to whatever we say,” shares Mrs. Monika, whose daughter, Sweta is in 11th grade. “Thus it is our duty to support her to fulfill her dreams.”

Sep 20, 2011

The excitement is palpable as the world descends upon New York for today’s opening of the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). I’ve been lucky enough to attend CGI on behalf of Room to Read for the past five years, and now sit on CGI’s Advisory Board. Every year I’m in awe of how the forum has turned into a catalyst for game-changing partnership and collaboration in the field of international development. Each year, I leave with new connections and new ideas that we have been able to implement to make a difference for millions of children across the developing world.

This year’s CGI will be no different. Room to Read will unveil an innovative report, the inspiration for which was born at a meeting convened by CGI last spring. At the meeting, Cory Heyman, our chief program officer, met with representatives from FHI 360 and Amenons Nos Filles á l’Ecole (ANFE), two other nonprofits working in the field of girls’ education. Despite the multitude of organizations around the world dedicated to girls’ education, they noted, there has been very little research dedicated to identifying the factors that contribute to girls’ success in reaching higher education.

Together they questioned: If we know that gender bias, safety concerns, early marriage, pregnancy and financial disadvantage are major roadblocks to tertiary education, then what are the success factors that can help girls in the developing world overcome them? In other words—let’s not focus on the barriers, let’s learn about the real-world solutions that actually work.

As the idea for a study identifying such factors began to take shape, The MasterCard Foundation, with whom we first connected at CGI 2010, stepped in to provide guidance and financial support—kicking off six months of rigorous research.

The fact is, even under the most challenging conditions, there are young women across the developing world charting new territory and taking the bold step of seeking higher education. We wanted to hear from them—in their own words—about the factors that were positively contributing to their success.

Our team conducted in-person interviews with 160 of these trailblazing young women in Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India and Mauritania, and found that despite political, cultural, and economic differences between their communities, the girls identified very similar success factors as being instrumental in their ability to reach university.

The young women we met shared personal stories that illuminated their common attributes of determination and courage. Many cited the encouragement of their families, teachers and communities as being paramount to their success, coupled with the material and emotional support they'd received from nonprofit organizations.

For Room to Read, these findings will help shape our Girls’ Education program curriculum, which we’ve built out over the years to go beyond financial support and to include extensive life skills training and mentoring as well as family and community engagement.

By releasing the final report at this year’s CGI Annual Meeting, we hope that these girls’ voices can reach across borders and help shape best practices in the field of girls’ education for years to come.

Read the complete report, Through Their Eyes, In Their Voices: Young women in five countries share their experiences navigating tertiary education, on our website.

Sep 07, 2011

Many of us don’t spend much time thinking about how literacy affects our life, but maybe we should…

Imagine being one of the nearly 796 million people worldwide who lacks the ability to read or write. It would make deciphering the contents of an employment ad, taking the proper dosage of medication and filling out a ballot form all nearly impossible.

The bad news is that most of those 796 million people live in developing countries, where access to a quality education can be extremely limited, so their children and grandchildren are likely to continue in the same path. The good news is that doesn’t have to be the case.

International Literacy Day is September 8, and Room to Read will be celebrating all month long by spreading awareness and raising funds to fight illiteracy in the developing world. Here are three things you can do to help:

Make a donation. Thanks to our partner, Better World Books, all gifts to our library program in September will be matched up to $40,000. That means that your gift and all others like it will have twice the impact!

Jun 22, 2011

From the earliest days of Room to Read, we have enjoyed a tradition of ringing a yak bell from Nepal in honor of each significant victory. Be it an investor funding a new school, a program milestone like our 10,000th library, or having made a key hire, the yak bell provides an opportunity for the Room to Read team to pause during very long days, take a deep breath, and celebrate with our colleagues.

This week, there is a new bell to ring–the daily closing bell of the NASDAQ stock exchange.

One of the key reasons for Room to Read’s meteoric growth during our first decade has been the support of the business and financial communities. Companies like Atlassian, Barclays Capital, Bloomberg, Caterpillar, Credit Suisse, the Financial Times, Goldman Sachs and Jones Day have embraced our model of using education to empower people across the developing world to help themselves. Executives from such companies have joined our global Boards, hosted fundraising events, and been active members of our chapter network in 56 cities around the world.

So it is with great pride that today Room to Read has been invited to ring the closing bell on the NASDAQ stock exchange. I am delivering the lunch keynote today in New York at an annual shipping industry conference called Marine Money on the topic of “Why Capitalists Should Care about Education in the Developing World.” Each year, the Marine Money team is invited to ring the bell as the day’s frantic trading comes to a close. I was completely surprised last week when the event organizers emailed to say, “We’d rather see Room to Read in the spotlight, and have the world learn more about your team’s great work.”

And what a spotlight it will be. My short remarks, along with the bell ringing, will be streamed live online here. It will also be broadcast in New York’s bustling Times Square, via a 100-foot tall electronic billboard. Hopefully it will inspire the business community to continue to think big about the power of education to change lives.

The first time I delivered a yak-load of books to schools on Nepal’s Annapurna Circuit over ten years ago, I could never have imagined our little start-up receiving such an honor. From yak bells to the closing bell–we couldn’t have made it this far without you, our incredible community of passionate supporters. Go team!